Campbell Patton received a tremendous confidence boost after winning the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory State Championships for the fourth time at the weekend.

The Bermudian sailor won two of the three races on Lake Macquarie to finish six points clear of nearest rival Brett Beyer atop the 45-strong ILCA 7 fleet at the regatta, which was hosted by Wangi Amateur Sailing Club in Wangi Wangi, New South Wales.

Patton led after the opening day of racing and was declared the overall winner after the final three races of the six-race series were cancelled as a result of a lack of wind.

“It’s great to be back on the podium and racing against solid competition,” Patton said.

“It definitely boosts my confidence in my boat speed to be dominant in a range of conditions.

“It was a tight competition and the other New South Wales guys I was competing against made it difficult. But I ended up scoring a 2-1-1 on the first day and then on the second day there was not enough wind to compete, so I came away with the win.”

Patton was denied the sweep after finishing runner-up to Australian Julian Taylor in the opening race.

“Race one, Julian Taylor and I were neck and neck the whole time and he just got the better of me on the downwind,” he said. “I then came from behind in both the race wins thanks to my speed and positioning.”

The 24-year-old capitalised on the favourable conditions, which gave him the edge over his rivals in the single-handed Olympic class dinghy.

“The conditions were windy and shifty in flat water, which played into my hand as I enjoy those conditions,” he said.

Patton is proud to have his name inscribed on the trophy alongside elite sailors such as Australian Olympic, World Championship and America’s Cup champion Tom Slingsby.

“It's my fourth time winning this trophy and I’m among some big names in sailing on the trophy,” he said.

“⁠I think I can attribute my repeated success at this event to working really hard on my fitness from August to November, which lets me hit the ground running at the start of the Australian summer, and this year especially I’ve had a successful fitness block.”

As well as the competition and wind shifts, Patton also had to keep a wary eye out for sharks as he navigated his way around the racecourse.

“There were some big sharks which made it interesting,” he said. “I saw a big Bull shark which is not too uncommon Down Under.”

Patton, who now resides in Sydney, is also grateful to have regained fitness after a back injury hindered his progress last year.

“I’ve been limited by some injury setbacks over the last year but have been pushing through those and looking forward to the next events that I’ve got coming up,” he said.

“I have a disc bulge in my lower back that is common among ILCA sailors and unfortunately more training volume in the boat makes it worse, so I have to manage my load and strengthen that area on land.”

The son of multiple national Etchells champion Tim Patton has also set his sights on representing Bermuda in the class at the next Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I’m still very much looking to qualify for the LA 2028 Olympics and start ramping up more competitions on the international stage next year,” he said. “I am looking to do more events in the World Cup and World Championships to keep improving.”

Competing against some of the world’s elite, Patton clinched a spot in the medal race at last year’s final Olympic qualifier in France but ultimately came up short of qualification.